Never Too Late
by Bizi-Myers
Summary: {based after an idea on tumblr} A divorce was inevitable, both of them should have seen it coming. But is it really what they want? /FrUK, One-Shot


To say they didn't know why they were here would be lying.

Four years of marriage, the first two starting out in nothing but absolute bliss and pure romance, the last finishing in squabbles and fights. It was known that neither Francis or Arthur had nothing in common, the two were as different as could get, one being the novella-type romantic and the other a more serious and practical type.

No one thought their relationship would blossom into anything more than dating, and quite frankly Arthur had never expected a proposal. Heck, at this point he was even wondering why he'd accepted it. Yes, he'd loved Francis, and Francis had loved him. He didn't mind the romantic gestures but over time, those became less and less. Both of them became too absorbed in their work to even give themselves the romantic attentions one would expect in a relationship, and soon the arguments started to bubble up. To be honest, they weren't very serious arguments, they were always over something ridiculous, like not getting home on time or supper being burnt. Neither of them thought it would escalate into anything serious, this was just life for them now. But apparently this wasn't the case. As time went on, they just drifted farther and farther apart.

What happened next shouldn't have shocked anybody.

One morning Francis got up as usual, still dressed in nothing but his pajamas, he'd walked into the living room to find Arthur sitting on the couch, as if he were waiting for him. Neither of them said anything, just exchanged glances, as Francis slowly sat down beside his husband, dread beginning to creep into his heart.

"I know what you're going to say." he said.

"Still won't stop me from saying it." Arthur muttered sharply.

Francis sighed and looked down at the carpet on the ground. He could feel his throat beginning to knot up despite Arthur having not said anything yet, but he knew what was coming.

"I...Francis, I want a divorce."

And that was the one sentence that had lead them to where they were now, in an attorney's office. The sharply dressed woman sat behind the desk in front of them, reading through the several legal papers she had set out. The two of them sat there and listened...not attentively, but to their best extent.

Francis's mind was far from this event, he could only think back to the moment he'd proposed, thinking he was going to spend the rest of his life with this grumpy Brit who he'd managed to win the heart of. He smiled absent-mindedly, recalling that it had been their two year anniversary of dating. They'd been in Francis's home-city of Paris, on vacation. After a dinner in an outdoor cafe and a few glasses of wine, they'd taken a stroll past the Eiffel tower as snow began to fall from the sky, just making small talk and teasing remarks. His heart ached as he recalled stopping, taking the small box from his coat pocket before kneeling down on the ground and asking that one very important question. Oh god he'd been so nervous, but so happy when Arthur had said yes. He remembered feeling ecstatic in that moment...he'd never been so in love before in his whole life.

What had gone wrong?

The whole drive up to the divorce attorney had left him unsettled. He still wasn't sure about this, he never had been. Why couldn't they have just settled things out? They'd had a fair share of arguments before they were married, why should now be any different? Just because they actually lived with eachother? They'd put up with so much, just calling it quits now seemed like a failure.

The attorney was almost done reading now. Francis wanted to back out this instant and head right out the door, but he had to remind himself that this was what Arthur wanted. He couldn't deny he still cared for the man, and his happiness had to come first. He wasn't going to take that away from him.

"And that takes care of that. Now uh..." The attorney picked up a pen and held it out to both of them. "Which one of you would care to sign first? Mr. Bonnefoy?"

Francis snapped back to attention and eyed the pen. He looked over to Arthur, who just sat there with a blank expression on his face. With a heavy sigh, he took the pen and took the paper from the attorney, signing his name on one of the dotted lines at the bottom.

When he'd finished, he paused a moment before turning to Arthur and hesitantly holding it out to him. But Arthur was lost in his own world. He'd been so sure a divorce was what he wanted; he just couldn't stand another day of arguing and taunts. But now that was he was actually here, he was beginning to think about it again. Did he really want to go through with this? He couldn't recall a moment where he'd never forgave Francis after one of their fights, they always made up. Even he would admit their fights were ridiculous, his heart was left undecided. Was this really the right thing to do, or was he acting too drastically? He didn't know, his head ached too much to figure this out.

"Arthur?"

He jumped in his seat and looked at Francis, who was offering the pen to him. Slowly he reached out to take it, but his fingers intertwined with his soon to be ex-husband's as he grasped it. He glanced up and faced Francis, who's usually sparkling blue eyes were a bit misty. But he just weakly smiled.

"This is what you want, mon cher. Go ahead." he said in a shaky voice.

Was he certain? Was he so certain that this was what he wanted?

He'd seemed so bent on it before, he thought backing out now would just prove nothing. He just nodded, stiffly, and scooted his chair closer to the desk. He placed the tip of the pen on the paper and began to sign his name...A...R...T...

Doing this caused his mind to flash back to the time he and Francis had signed their marriage certificate. It was a legal thing, just like this was, but the circumstances then had not been so uncertain and gloomy. He'd signed that thing without hesitation, as had Francis. They'd been young, happy, so certain they were going to grow old together. He fought back a chuckle as he recalled he'd been sick that day, but he'd forced himself out of bed because he was determined to make things official.

Why couldn't he so determined now?

H...U...R..

He finished signing his first name, pausing a moment. One more word. One more word and it would be over. His heart began to twist as he forced himself to write a K, tears welled up in his eyes and he bit down on his lip as his hand began to shake.

"I can't!" he suddenly cried without warning, and dropped the pen onto the table with a clank, startling both Francis and the attorney. He pushed the paper away and got up from his seat, tears beginning to flow more freely down his flushed cheeks. "I can't do this, this is bloody ridiculous!"

The heaviness in Francis's heart lifted as soon as heard those words, but he chided himself. He got up and walked over to the now-sobbing Arthur, gently embracing him in an effort to calm him down. As he gently stroked his matted blonde hair, he looked over at the attorney.

"Would you mind leaving us alone for a moment?" he asked.

"Oh, um, of course." Still a bit startled, the attorney pushed back her chair and got up, quickly making her way towards the door. When it clicked shut, Arthur lifted his head from where he'd laid it on his husband's shoulder and looked up at him with a tear-stained face.

"I couldn't do it, Francis, I'm sorry. I'm so sor-" He was cut off as Francis placed a finger on his trembling lips.

"Shh, it's alright." he said quietly. "There's nothing to be sorry for. I was just so certain that this was what you wanted."

"W-well it's n-not..." Arthur hiccuped, using the sleeve of his sweater to brush the tears off his face. "I mean...if it's what you wanted..."

"Non non, all I wanted was for you to be happy, mon amour. Even if it meant giving you up." Francis smiled sympathetically and placed his hand on the other man's warm cheek, softly carressing it. Arthur flushed even deeper and grasped onto his hand, tightly squeezing it. He took a deep breath, as the tears ceased their flowing, and he looked Francis straight in the eye.

"Well you won't have to give me up, I'd be just as happy to spend another ten years with you, even if we are quarreling the whole time." he said, his voice still hoarse from crying.

Francis raised an eye brow.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Positively." breathed Arthur. "But don't you dare make me regret it."

"Oh mon cherie, I can assure you I won't."

And without a moment's hesitation after those words were spoken, Francis removed his hand from Arthur's face and pulled him closer, pressing his lips against his. And this was what the attorney walked back in to see, uncertain of whether or not the two had been done talking or not. With a small gasp, she silently backed away out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"There goes another client." she sighed.

~FIN


End file.
